Overcoming
by Keiko Reine Frost
Summary: A very brief look at Nudge's musings after she realizes that Fang and Max love each other, and her acceptance of this. Unusually somber for Nudge, supporting Fax, and one-sided "Fudge." No flamers, but I love constructive criticism. Please review.


**Um, okay…no idea why I wrote this. I guess I just felt sorry for Nudge. If you want to flame, find **_**another**_** story please. Constructive criticism is accepted, just review, okay?**

**Disclaimer: Ha, ha. Me, owning Maximum Ride? It makes me laugh. **

The sun was setting behind the curve of a few hills that blended in with the now-pink sky to turn the lake below into a colorful reflection. Nudge sighed and jammed her fists into her pockets. Sometimes she'd come here to think, or sometimes to talk to the birds that flew around the lake and hills. It gave off a wave of nostalgia—her home with the hawks, where she and Fang had stayed while waiting for Max. Nudge frowned harder and kicked softly at a stone by her sneaker.

It wasn't that she didn't like Max. Oh, no, she loved Max! Max was like a smart, responsible older sister to Nudge, even if they didn't share any blood relation. She didn't know what she would do if Max were to ever…

She swallowed the lump in her throat and glanced about a few more times. The memory of flying the afternoon sky with the ferruginous hawks, as Fang had called them, was lodged deep in her chest. She thought about it a lot, and she'd analyze different aspects of the adventure. The only thing that made her sad sometimes was when she'd hear the tiny softness to Fang's voice when he mentioned Max, or when she saw the camouflaged spark in his eye when he found their leader again…

Nudge wasn't blind. Max wasn't the only one that understood Fang through and through. She understood of course that Max and Fang were the perfect couple—they _belonged_ with one another. Nudge wasn't in any way part of that picture. She was just in the corner shot, beaming happily as if she'd always wanted them to love one another.

Yet…

It was so silly. She'd chided herself a million times about it before, but...when they were younger, Nudge liked to decide who would marry who. After all, it was just the six of them. During that time it seemed nearly impossible that they would visit the outside world. So she'd sit beside Jeb and study the three oldest members of the flock. Max was confident and determined, but she had a softer, hidden side to her. Nudge had been sure this meant she would marry Iggy one day. After all, he caught the tiny hitches in her voice better than any of them. Nudge had seen Max gently guide things to Iggy, and she remembered their first few flying lessons. Nudge had had to stand on the ground and watch—she wasn't ready to practice flying around just then—and the memory of Max guiding Iggy's every movement, every wing beat, lived strongly in her heart. She was positive. She wouldn't be wrong about this.

Of course, that had left Fang. Nudge slumped to the ground and stared at the glassy lake below. She hadn't known how Fang felt about Max until Max was gone, until Max had kissed Fang when they were so sure he'd die. Nudge bit her lip hard as she remembered the sight of Max leaning beside Fang in worry, in concern, in love.

Back in her dreams, Fang liked Nudge. He was always helping her, right? He cared about her, and he promised her she'd be okay. She knew that if anything were to happen to Jeb or later Max, Fang would take care of her. She didn't have to worry when she was around him.

Now Nudge saw the truth. Fang and Max, together forever. The cutest flock couple alive. They were the right ages anyway. Max surely knew Fang as well as he knew Max, and that meant they understood each other. They were more mature, they could understand what love is. Nudge…Nudge was still very young. That's what she'd decided; it was a crush. A bit of it lingered in her heart sometimes, but it was entirely different than love, and therefore…

Therefore it didn't matter. All Nudge could do was smile and look happy in the sidelines, supporting Fang and Max all the way. Nothing could tear them apart, and Nudge certainly didn't want to be one to try.

She stood up, dusted off her cargo pants, and felt strangely better. That heavy boulder that had been crushing her stomach when she'd flew away to this quiet oasis she'd found was fading fast. Now it was hardly but a pebble, a pebble she could throw off into the shiny lake below.

"Nudge?" Someone called from the mouth of the cave. "Nudge, you in here?"

She smiled at Iggy's voice and spread her tawny wings slightly. As she trotted out of the cave, she called out, "Yeah! Is there something wrong?" Worry began to spread. "Is everyone all right? Is someone hurt? Did—"

"No," Iggy interrupted as he flapped slightly lower so his blind eyes could stare emptily in Nudge's direction. "We're just having dinner."

Nudge's eyes lit up joyously. "Great!" She called back happily. "I'm coming! Wait for me!" The worries and sadness shed off her mocha skin as she hurdled herself through the cave mouth, dropped into the sky below, and sailed off into the pink dusk sky, to rejoin her family.

**Honestly, I don't know why I wrote this. I had been reading the Maximum Ride Volume 2 manga when I noticed the parts where Nudge kept staring at Fang. James Patterson never progressed with a Nudge X Fang X Max triangle, so I guess her feelings were resolved at some point afterwards. **

**A few things…**

**One: This is my shortest chapter/story ever, and it's about Nudge. Talk about irony, eh? Nudge is normally very hyper and talkative, but considering I wanted to make this short, it didn't happen. And she isn't all feminine and girly because these are the deeper, serious feelings in her, not the happier outer core. Another reason she's not in character? 'Cause I'm not James Patterson, that's why. **

**Two: I support Fax. I'm not a NudgeXFang (Fudge? Heh, heh) shipper, I just wanted to write maybe how Nudge might've felt after she realized it was Fang and Max all the way. So I wrote this up quickly and decided to post it before it gathered virtual dust in my computer files.**

**So, do you have advice for me? Do you have praise, suggestions, comments, and random words like 'You Won Five Million Dollars' for me? If so, click the little button below. Come on, it's sad and lonely. **

**Thanks for reading!**


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